7 Adobe Capture CC Tips from Illustrator Esther Loopstra

As an illustrator and designer, my work is an extension of my perpetual curiosity. My illustrations and designs have appeared in print ads, editorials, books, stationery products, and textiles. The right tools are an essential part of tapping into the creative process; Adobe’s Capture CC app has become an integral part of my workflow for certain projects.

The main thing I discovered when I started working with Capture was how easy it was to incorporate into my workflow and how it propelled my ideas forward. It let me spend more time in the ideation process. Things that I was doing before that took a long time got much easier. Here are seven tips for making the most out of Adobe Capture CC in your own design work.

Use Capture to Invest More in the Early Idea Process

Spend time more time exploring at the beginning of projects. When we get too focused, too fast, we shut off our creativity and sometimes put ourselves in a box. Remain in that state of flow, just exploring and playing early on. Capture frees you up to explore a little bit more, and spend time collecting colors, textures, and other inspiration.

Capture the Inspiration You Find In the Moment

You can’t really access your creativity unless you are in the moment. Capture lets you be more present in the world around you and worry about technique later. Think about the way that you work and your process ahead of time. What might you need for your upcoming project? Do you work with patterns, textures, shapes, or colors? Then, go on a creative walk or go through your day just observing. Start noticing what you notice in your everyday surroundings and Capture what inspires you. That’s what makes you unique as a creative person, observing details that pop out to you but not anybody else. Capture everything you can while you are gathering inspiration. Remember, you can always go back and edit later.

Get Your Shapes As Clean As Possible in the Capture App

From the tech perspective, it’s important to think ahead before transferring images into other programs. If you’re using the Shape tool, try to get the shape you’re working with as clean and refined as you can while it’s in the app. When you’re editing on the app, you can zoom in and get very detailed with refinements, which saves you time when you import it into Photoshop or Illustrator later.

Organize Your Captures into Libraries to Find Them Later

When you’re using Capture for inspiration, find a way to organize your libraries that makes sense for you so you can easily find those pieces later. It could be by project, by client, or by theme. You might want to segment your ideas into nature or geometric shapes, for example. You could also create libraries for inspiration for topics like colors or typography.

Share Previews of Your Work in Progress with Your Audiences

You can upload your shapes, color themes, and brushes directly to Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest when you’re working on them to give your followers a glimpse into your process. For example, if you captured a shape and refined it, you can upload it and make a little post like, ’Hey, just started the process on this.’ That’s a really fun thing to share with your community.

Name the Shapes You’re Bringing Into Photoshop

For more flexibility in working with your shapes in other programs, name them. If you go into Photoshop and you look at your shapes, they are transparent. They’re on a dark background and can be hard to see. If you name them, you’ll be able to find each one more easily to work on individual elements.

Experiment with Creating Textures from Your Own Work

One of the advantages of using Capture is the ability to experiment with incorporating textures and colors into your work in new ways. If you like textures, try creating a brush from your own paintings. Often, I’ll get people asking me for a painted background texture. Create a mark with paint, and then Capture that on the app to make a texture all your own.

For more tips on using Adobe Capture CC, check out my tutorial videos. What are your top tips for integrating Capture into your mobile workflow? Let us know in the comments below.

Esther Loopstra is an illustrator and designer specializing in food, hand-lettering, & surface design. Her work has been used for print ads, editorials, books, stationery products, & textiles. She has created artwork for clients like Target, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Frito Lay, All You Magazine, and Capstone Publishing.
Esther teaches at Cornish College of Arts and her own course “Finding Your Creative Voice" in Seattle, WA.